How to Make a Wedding Website
Wedding websites are essential hubs for engaged couples and their wedding guests. While key details were once spread across invitations, enclosure cards, and registries, wedding websites now keep all that information in one place. They tell guests when and where the wedding is, show them where they can stay, and help them buy gifts for the happy couple. They also help couples keep track of specifics, like RSVPs, menu selections, guest allergies, and more.
The best wedding websites don’t just provide information. They tell the couple’s story, help guests share in the love, and offer a first impression of the wedding itself.
With Squarespace, you can build a custom wedding website that truly captures the couple you're celebrating. You can help them stand out with a custom wedding website domain, save them time by answering guest FAQs in one place, and set the tone for the wedding, giving guests a glimpse of the beautiful celebration to come. You can also use Email Campaigns to share updates about the event. You can even password-protect the wedding website until the couple is ready to share it, or they can keep it private and share the password with guests on save-the-dates and invites.
By getting creative with the wedding website builder tools at your disposal, you can create a custom destination that couples will be excited to share with loved ones and look back on after their big day. You can also give them the gift of having one less thing to worry about during the wedding planning process.
Questions to ask before building the wedding website
Wedding websites are vital information-sharing resources. So before getting creative with custom copy and design elements, ask the couple some key questions about their event.
When is the wedding?
Where is the wedding?
How can guests get to the venue (and is there parking)?
What is the dress code?
Is the event child-free?
When should guests RSVP by?
Are there other wedding events guests should know about, like rehearsal dinners, afterparties, or post-wedding brunches?
Is there additional information you need from guests when they RSVP, like food allergies, meal choices, or song requests?
Then, embrace the fun part of planning a wedding website. Get to know the couple, ask them to share their engagement story and learn more about the wedding destination they chose.
How did you meet?
How did you get engaged?
Can you send me your favorite couple photos or engagement photos?
Who is in your wedding party?
Why did you choose your wedding location?
What are some of your favorite things to do in the area?
Did you reserve a hotel block? If so, where is it, and what’s the booking code?
Where are you registered?
Can you walk me through what you want your wedding to look like and how you want the event to feel?
These questions should give you a feel for the couple, an understanding of their big day, and a clear picture of what information you need to include on their wedding website.
Designing the wedding website
Your clients’ wedding website shouldn’t just be beautiful and informative. It should capture the unique look and feel of their event.
Before you start building, talk to your clients about the design choices they’ve made. Have they booked a venue, chosen a color scheme, selected save-the-dates, or picked out wedding decor? Since wedding websites often go live six to eight months before the big day, the couple’s progress might be meager. But once you have a sense of their aesthetic, you can find wedding website templates, color schemes, and font combinations that encapsulate their event.
Your clients’ wedding website should also feel personal. Once you’ve captured the spirit of their big day, celebrate everything that led them there. Chronicle their relationship through a timeline of stories or gallery of images. Recount the day they got engaged from each client’s point-of-view. Showcase any engagement photos they’ve sent you, and ask friends and family for their favorite photos, videos, and stories featuring the couple.
When done right, a custom wedding website should feel like a time capsule—something couples can fondly look back on long after their big day.
Essential pages of a wedding website
Though the look and feel of a wedding website will vary from couple to couple, the structure will largely stay the same. After all, most wedding websites have the same goals: they help couples track logistics, while inviting guests to make plans, buy gifts, and get excited about the big day.
Homepage
Wedding websites are the go-to destination for guests until the big day. So design an engaging homepage that gets guests excited about the wedding. Add a beautiful photo of the happy couple. Write a one-liner that sets the tone for the event and get everyone in the mood to celebrate by embedding a countdown timer.
Our story
Add an about page that shares the couple’s story. Ask your clients to recount the day they met, embed a timeline spotlighting their favorite memories, or tell their engagement story from start to finish. Bring the page together with fun photos and videos and put the couple’s engagement photos on full display.
Event details
Help everyone keep their schedules straight with a page dedicated to the weekend’s events. Highlight the date, time, and location of each event. You’ll want to include minutiae, like dress code, transportation details, and whether children are invited. Customize the page by embedding maps and venue photos and include a link to the RSVP page.
RSVP
Simplify the RSVP process with a standalone page that gathers all the information your clients need. With a custom form block, you can ask guests to RSVP to individual events, report food allergies, make menu choices, request songs, and provide addresses (for thank you notes) or emails (for event updates).
Travel Information
Add a guest information page featuring hotel block details, lodging options, and local recommendations. Ask your clients to share their favorite things to do in the area. Lastly, remind guests of key event details, like dates, times, locations, and transportation options.
Registry
Help guests find the perfect wedding gift by creating a registry page. Add a registry block that showcases the items your clients are eyeing, or use clickthrough image blocks to link to registries at different stores. You can also use donation blocks to help the couple accept honeymoon fund donations and other cash gifts.
FAQs
Save your clients time and trouble with an FAQ page. Clarify event-specific details, like dress codes, rain plans, transportation options, and whether children are invited. Clearly state the RSVP deadline, with a link to the RSVP page. Though many of these questions will be answered elsewhere on the website, you can save everyone time by reanswering them here.
Once the wedding website is built, ensure your clients can easily share it by setting them up with a custom domain name. You can also help them craft creative emails that keep guests updated and excited about the big day. When the wedding is over, offer to update the wedding website with photos, videos, and other highlights from the celebration. You can also offer to set up a honeymoon blog, so your clients can continue to share the memories they’re making together.
There are countless ways to create wedding websites that are truly tailored to the couple you’re celebrating. Use your expertise to streamline their planning process, get guests excited about the event, and give everyone something beautiful to look back on once the big day has come and gone.
Want more?
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